HTC may license BB10: report

Relief for RIM?

HTC has shown an interest in RIM's upcoming BlackBerry 10 operating system, as the embattled Canadian phone maker looks to license out its new OS to other smartphone makers.

RIM earlier this year announced the launch of the much-hyped BB10 operating system would be pushed back from late 2012 to 2013, claiming integration of new features and a huge volume of code had proven more time consuming than anticipated.

It has been looking to license out the OS to in a bid to take on its rival Android and Windows Phone operating systems, but until now, there were no takers.

HTC revealed it is studying the possibility of building a BlackBerry 10 device, according to the company's EMEA product director Graham Wheeler.

"I don’t have any knowledge, but that is not to say we are not looking at it," he said. "From my point of view we are not saying we are closed to a new operating system. We will review each one to make sure it’s the best for our customers."

CEO Thorsten Heins has blamed the BYOD trend for threatening RIM’s traditional enterprise smartphone user base, and indicated RIM would undertake a “substantial change” in focus to regain some of its lost territory in this crucial market.

"The impression I had after two days as CEO is very different from the impression - not the impression, the facts - I discovered after being here for 10 weeks as CEO," Heins said.